If ever there were a web 2.0 Pandora's box, Facebook would be it. As a counter to the positives (which I'll hit on momentarily) there's a plethora of issues that individuals and organizations should give serious thought to when diving into software of this sort. Privacy is the big one (especially for individuals). It's not that Facebook is trying to be invasive per se (though they are getting to be that way), but that people seem to give little thought to how much info they're putting out there on the Internet and how difficult it is to reign in (and/or delete) that information once it's archived on the Facebook servers. There's also the related issue of blogs and the like being cached by Google and the Wayback machine.
Another issue to consider at the organizational level is the amount of time staff spend on Facebook during work hours [link and link]. I have a friend at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Their IT staff collected data on staff computer use and found that over half of it was Facebook-related. What about our library? Does such behavior occur here? Should we block Facebook on MCPL staff computers? I don't know. I suppose the issue becomes complicated when an organization decides to have a Facebook presence (or makes it part of a training exercise like 23 Things). In addition, we have a Facebook page for teen services and are currently working on a Facebook presence for the library in general. That said, the Shedd Aquarium has a Facebook presence while still blocking the site on staff computers. Perhaps MCPL should consider a similar policy. Hmmm...
I, myself, have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. I vacillate between "What a colossal waste of time" and "Good golly, I sure don't want to miss out on all the fascinating updates on my pal's pet peeves of the day, the crazy things they saw on the way to work, the things they ate for breakfast, and how much they drank last night...oh, and here's 45 pictures documenting it, etc). No, seriously, I'm not trying to be cynical; I simply am cynical. But perhaps I'm getting a way from the spirit of 23 Things in this post. Thing is, I can't help myself. Of all the "things" I've looked at so far, this is the one about which I have the strongest opinion.
Here's the thing: the masses love Facebook. It's a form commodified socialization that allows us to do yet one more thing on our computer/PDA/iPhone without having to actually interact with another human being. It allows us to find an echo chamber of like-minded individuals within which to bounce our opinions about without fear of hearing a disparate point-of-view--and, better still, the expectation is that we do it in 20 or so words, so there's none of that formulating well-reasoned arguments for our convictions that we're to justify with something resembling empirical evidence and logic. And don't forget videos of cats in boxes and drunks falling down. Gotta post links to those viral videos.
Okay, I'm doing it again. I'm ranting and being cynical.
Now, where was I? Oh yes, the masses love Facebook. As such, Facebook provides a means for organizations (like libraries) to reach out to people (like patrons) and actually connect with them somewhere where they actually spend time. In that sense, yes, Facebook has positive potential. Perhaps I lapse into cynicism because so much of what passes for content on Facebook is--in my humble opinion--noise. But if that noise leads to meaningful discussion, then I suppose it's a good thing. In that vein, organizations (like the library) could promote talks and programs and the like on Facebook. The interest generated could then lead to increased turnout at library functions, and perhaps disparate points-of-view would be shared, listened to, responded to calmly and rationally, and we might actually help to evolve some ideas. If the end-product of a Facebook post is something like that, then I'm all for it. But if Facebook is simply an ends in and of itself, then I'm not such a big fan.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to update my cat's page.
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